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AHP publishes standards for reporting charitable giving

Nonprofit hospitals, foundations and health
care fundraisers can now refer to standards for accurately measuring and
reporting charitable giving with the publication by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) of its AHP Standards Manual.

Based on expertise from the disciplines of
law, finance, accounting and research, the manual defines terms and sets
standards across the field of health care fundraising -- from the
classification of revenue sources and expenses to measurement of the impact of
philanthropic programs and various management and operational approaches.

Senior level fundraisers and chief
financial officers of AHP-member organizations serving on AHP's Health Care
Philanthropy Standards Council have reviewed the manual to ensure its accuracy
and relevancy.

The manual places reporting standards in
the context of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as well as Internal Revenue Service and Canadian Revenue Agency specifications.

Fundraising revenues, for example, are
deemed to be either "cash" or "production" in order to provide a thorough
accounting of fundraising performance. Cash represents the dollars available
for immediate use by the organization, while production provides a more
accurate measure of total fundraising, including both projected and secured
revenues.

The AHP Standards Manual sets detailed
definitions of these terms as well as their classification into specified
fundraising programs such as annual giving, major giving and special events.
Direct and indirect expenses associated with each type of program are
calculated to reveal the programs' return on investment and allow comparisons
between and among fundraising approaches. Situational examples and arrays of
sample reports illustrate how to classify revenues and expenses.